Ice fishing presents a number of unique challenges due to the cold conditions and small size of the hole in the ice through which the fisherman seeks to catch fish. Existing ice fishing systems have the fishing line built in and the system sits in the ice hole partially submerged in the water of the ice fishing hole. When a fish is hooked, the fisherman has to pull the entire mechanism out of the ice hole and land the fish by hand. Pulling up the mechanism and landing the fish by hand in freezing cold water is uncomfortable and can cause injury to the fisherman's hands. While this special equipment is often used for ice fishing, some fishermen prefer to use standard rods and reels for ice fishing. Due to the cold, it is often desirable to put down the fishing rod and wait for the fish to bite before picking up the rod and reel.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a fishing rod holder that can be used for ice fishing. In particular, it is desirable for the holder to enable predominantly hands-free fishing and include an indicator to notify the fisherman that a fish has taken the bait and is on the hook so that the fisherman knows when to pick up the fishing pole. These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be explained and will become obvious to one skilled in the art through the summary of the invention that follows.